We’re just hours away from the US & Canada premiere of Season 4 of Babylon Berlin…
I’m kicking myself for having started watching the screeners for the fourth season of Babylon Berlin much later than I expected, so I’ve only been able to watch the first four of twelve episodes so far. But oh, how great they are, and unless the rest of the episodes fall off a cliff story- and production-wise, the rest of the season should be equally as awesome.
For folks who are new to Babylon Berlin, a cracking good noir period crime thriller based on Volker Kutscher’s best-selling “Gereon Rath Mysteries” novels, it’s best to start the series from the beginning, as there are arcs that carry through from the earlier seasons to Season 4, and knowing the backstories of various characters and sub-plots will help you to better navigate certain storylines in this season, which has been shown elsewhere in the world but never before in North America. Until now.
Here’s a quick recap of what went down in Seasons 1-3:
The series is set during the late 1920s-early 1930s, against the backdrop of the political developments leading from the Weimar Republic to the spread of National Socialism and the Nazis taking power. It follows police detective Gereon Rath (Volker Bruch, Generation War) and Charlotte Ritter (Liv Lisa Fries, Munich), a police clerk who helps Gereon in his investigations and later becomes a full-fledged member of the criminal investigations squad.
Over the course of the first three seasons, Rath and Ritter delve into a case involving a porno ring run by the Berlin Mafia, a conspiracy between Soviet rebels and the Black Reichswehr (a secret German paramilitary group) to hijack a Soviet train rumored to be filled with Bolshevik gold, the on-set death of a famous actress, and more. As the Roaring Twenties come to a close and a new decade begins, organized crime is rife in Berlin, as is political extremism: dark forces are gathering to bring down democracy.
Season 4, based on Kutscher’s third “Gereon Rath” novel, Goldstein, opens on December 31, 1930. People across Berlin (and the world) are still suffering in the aftermath of the global stock market crash of 1929. But others, like industrialist Alfred Nyssen (Lars Eidinger, All the Light We Cannot See), made out like a bandit, and he’s celebrating the start of a new era at the family’s castle with his new wife, a New Year’s Eve party full of dignitaries and rich folks, and plans that could alter the course of Germany’s future.
Elsewhere in Berlin, members of Hitler’s SA hold an unsanctioned demonstration led by Walther Stennes (Hanno Koffler, Pagan Peak) and begin attacking Jews and Jewish businesses on the high street. At the same time, Charlotte arrives at a crime scene on the same street and recognizes her sister, Toni (Irene Böhm, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes), in the crowd. Moments later, Charlotte is stunned to see someone in a Nazi uniform whom she also recognizes: Gereon.
What the what?!? Yes.
Despite this public display of Nazi affiliation, Gereon continues on as a detective and begins his investigation into the death of a civil servant to whom certain criminal organizations, known as the Ringvereins, were indebted in order to operate as legitimate businesses. Which brings Gereon into the world of boxing, betting, and fixed fights. Meanwhile, Charlotte does what she can to help Toni, who appears to not want it, and gets herself in a heap of trouble for her bother. She also enters the first ladies’ danceathon at the Moka Efti club for a shot at winning the prize of 1,000 marks.
Meanwhile, journalist Samuel Katelbach (Karl Markovics, Tatort), who’s still lodging at Elizabeth Behnke’s (Fritzi Haberlandt, Divided We Stand) boarding house, is about to go on trial for exposing details about the Black Reichswehr. (This is a terrific storyline that starts in Season 1.) As Jewish American gangster Abe Gold (Mark Ivanir, Litvinenko) returns to Berlin to gets his mitts on an heirloom that was stolen from his father, a search that leads him to Nyssen, Toni is being sought by some crooked local cops, who are also members of the secret White Hand organization, which engages in its own brand of vigilante justice.
There’s much more besides in the first four episodes, including a plot against political police counselor and Nazi party member Colonel Wendt (Benno Fürmann, Biohackers), shady goings-on at police headquarters, and more questionable medical work by the mysterious Dr. Anno Schmidt (Jens Harzer, Crime Scene Cleaner). What can we expect in the back eight episodes? More murders, to be sure, as well as more violence perpetrated by members of the SA, more murderous and blackmail plots, more crimes of other sorts — and more binge-worthy watching for us!
Thus far into Season 4, I’m thrilled with everything save one; despite the catchy tune and fancy footwork, the dance hall scenes have not wowed me as much as that classic scene in Season 1. But they’re definitely better than the scene in Season 2 featuring English singer-songwriter Bryan Ferry (of Roxy Music), whom I adore. Still, these scenes make up only a fraction of the action in Season 4, which, like the earlier seasons, is robust and substantial in its storytelling, weaving in the historical with the fictional and the politically-theme plots with the whodunits.
Babylon Berlin: Season 4 premieres in the US and Canada with two episodes tomorrow, Tuesday, June 25, exclusively on MHz Choice and its digital channels, including MHz Choice on Prime Channels. New episodes will drop in pairs through July 30. Check it out!
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“Gereon Rath Mysteries” novels by Volker Kutscher
